Vending-machine.



L. A. VANDIVBIL' VENDING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 22; 1913.

Patented Oct. 13. 1914.

inventor,

Attorneys.

Witnesses I THE NORRIS F ERS CO. PHOTO-LITHQ. WASHINGTON, D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LESLIE A. vAivmvnn, or cmcaso, rumors, AssIenoR To s'mR- NOVELTY MANU- racrcmnsco, on SHELBINA, mrssocnr. V

vnnmne-mncmnn.

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, Lnsnrn A. VANnIvnR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented a new and useful Vending-Machine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to vending machines of that type disclosed in Patent No.

1,012,940, issued to mean December 26, 19111. One ofthe objects of the invention is to provide improved means for use inconnece. tion with a conveying arm, whereby boxes or packages of merchandise canbe securely engaged, elevated, and then conveyed to the point ofdelivery. 1 j

A further object is to provide a novel'arrangement of package engaging needles designed, when released, to project into the package or box along downwardly diverg- 1 ing lines so that, as longas these needlesare v in projected or active positions, they will be incapable of withdrawal from the engaed package until retracted by means provi ed for that purpose, thus insuring the =eleva"- tion of theengaged package when the picking up and conveyingmechanisnr is operated.

.lVith the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in" the combi-' nation and arrangement of partsand in the details of construction 'hereinatterldescribecl.

and claimed, it 'beingunderstood that changes in the precise embodiment 'ofsthej invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without MSame length gasfsleeve 9 and is connected dep arting from thespi'rit ofthe invention;

In the accompanying drawings the pre-, ferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a side e1e-= vation of the picking up .mecha'nism constituting the present invention. Fig. 2 is a tracted out of engaging position.

Referring to the figures *by characters of reference 1 designates a portion of a tubular standard within which a stem 2, a portion of which has been illustrated in Fig; '1, is

adapted to slide. Standard 1 has a slot 8- Specification! Iietters latent. Application filed September 92, 1913. Seria1No..79 1 ,229.

Patented Oct. 13, 1914.

which isfioredly attached to the stem 2 so as to slide therewith. Another arm 5 is arranged above arm 4- and has a depending guide rod 6;- Arm" 4 is provided with a yoke: 7 at its freeend and'in this yoke is secured a tubular spindleS adapted to slide on the arm 4. Asleeve 9 is slidably mounted on the spindle 8 and aspring 10 is housed in thesleeve andbears at onevend against an enlarged :p'ortion 12of1the1spindle and at its otherend upon an interior flange 13 formed win-the sleeve. Thesleeve 9 has a head 14 at its upper end provided with an annular shoulder 15. This shoulder is adapted,

. whenvthe sleeve is raised, to be engaged by a lip 17extending'tr0m a locking lever 18 iwhich is pivotally-connected to arm 4 and is held normally in engaging position by a :spring 1 9. m 1 L m The ipartsiaboye describeddo not constitute in themselves, any part of the present invention but have already been disclosed in i-coepending PPlimtiOHS filed byme and of even date here-with. a

The lever 18 has a slot 20 through which extends arsupporting plate 21 secured to the lowerend of yoke 7. A spindle 22 is secured at its upper end to this plate 21, as

threading the upper endfof the spindle.

wto form a nipple 23 projecting through plate -21"and engaged by a nut "24. The two spindles '8 and 22"extend downwardly the same distances-from the plate'21 and are fixed relativeto each other and to theplate' 2'1. Spindle 22 has a sleeve 25 slidably mounted thereon andthis sleeve is of the theretoatan intermediate point, by a block 26,lwhereby the sleeves are maintained par+ allel. A spring 27 similar was spring 11 is housed in sleeve 25 and bears at one end against an enlargement 28 on the spindle 22 andat its otherend against an interior flange 29 formed-within the sleeve 25. Thus the two springs 11 and 27 serve to hold the sleeves 9 and 25 normally pressed downwardly until an actuating plate 30, which rotateson the upper end portion of sleeve 9,

1 comes into-contact with-the lip 17 as shown in Fig! 1. This actuating plate 30 does not ;andextending-through this slot is an arm H "constitute any part of the present inven- .tion but has already beendisclosed in detail v in one of my oo-pending applications herein referred to. a

Embracing and pivotally connected to the lower end 'of each spindle 8 and 22 is a yoke 31 having a needle 32 extendingtherefrom.

'Ihe yokes are adapted to swing about parallel axes and the needles 32 are slidably mounted ,within downwardly diverging openings 33 formed in the bottom of a foot or thimble 3 1. This thimble is made up of parallel sleeves 35 connected by a web 36. A block'37 connects the sleeves 9 and 25 close 1 to the thimble 34: and has a hOlding spring 38 extending therefrom and-adapted to engage the web 36, and thus lock or secure the v thimble'lupon the ends of the sleeves 9 and 25. It will be seen that, under normal conditions, the shoulder 15 is out of engagement with lip 17 and, Consequently, the

springs- 11 and 27 hold sleeves 9 and in their lowermost positions, with'the plate bearing on lip17, as shown in Fig.1, and

. the points of the needles 32 seated in the 3 diverging openings '33. I

When the mechanism constituting this invention-is moved against a package, box or other article to be dispensed, the thimble 3 1 first comes into contact with said package or box and, as the apparatus continues in its movement toward the said package or box, the spindles- 8 and 22. will push against the yokes 31 and cause the needles 32 to slide -outwardly alongdiverging lines and into the bundle or box, as shown in Fig. 2. During this movement the springs 11 and 27 will .be placed under compression and, upon thecompletion of such movement, the shoulderi15 will come into engagement with lip 17, thus locking thesleeves 9 and 25 in the positions shown infFig; 2 and with the from the apparatus.

thus be conveyed to the point of discharge.

By means of plate 30,,the, locking lever 18 can be shifted so'as to disengage lip 17.

from shoulder 15 whereupon the tensioned springs 11, and 27 will shift the sleeves 9 and 25 downwardly along the spindles 8 and 22.' Consequently the thimble 3 1 will slide "along the needles 32 and strip the article from them so that said article. will be freed In order that'fan article such as a box or the like will be prevented from sagging,

while in engagement with the apparatus, a

steadying shoe ,ispre'ferably used in connectio'n therewith. As shown in Fig. l, a rod 39.;may be extended'downwardly from arm 5 and provided,- at its lower end, with a ring 4c0-adapted to extend aroundthe sleeves 9 and 25,. Rod 39 is so proportioned that,

when the box is elevated-to its uppermost position by the outwardly projecting and downwardly diverging needles 32, it will be brought into contact with the ring 10 or else close to the ring so that objectionable sagging of the bundle, if supported at a point off center, is prevented.

It has been found in practice that engaging means such as herein described is particularly desirable for use in connection with boxes of candy, and like articles,packages of chewing gum and, in fact, wherever it is desired to dispense packages of different sizes and kinds.

What is claimed is 1. In a vending machine, article engaging means including parallel spindles, means for shifting the spindles toward an article to be engaged, a needle pivotally connected to each spindle, a thimble shiftable relative to the spindles and having downwardly diverging apertures for the reception of the respective needles, and yielding means for holding the thimble normally in position to house the points of the needles.

2. In a vending machine, article engaging means including needles adapted to swing about parallel axes, means for pressing the needles against an article to be engaged, and a thimble movable against and adapted to be stopped by said article to be engaged, the said thimble being movable relative to and engaging the needles for spreading apart the points of'the needles while entering an object- I 3. In a vending machine, article engaging means including a thimble movable against and adapted to be stopped by said article, needles slidably mounted in the thimble and adapted to swing about parallel axes, means for projecting the needles through and beyon'd'the end of the thimble and into engagement. with the article engaged by the thimble,rsaid thimble constituting means for swinging the needles apart during such movement. 1

. 4:. In a vending machine, article engaging means including a thimble, needles slidabl mounted in the thimble and adapted to swing about parallel axes, means for proj ecting the needles through the thimble and into engagement with an article engaged by the thimble, said thimble constituting means for swinging the needles apart during such movement, and means adapted to be placed under compression by such movement of the needles relative to the thimble, for pressing the thimble yieldingly against the engaged object.

5. In a vending machine, the combination with parallel sleeves, a thimble connected to the free ends thereof, and means for detachably securing the thimble to the sleeves, of a spindle within each sleeve, means upon the spindles for holding the sleeves normally projected beyond one end of the spindles, needles pivotally connected to the respective spindles and having their points normally protected by the thimble, and means for directing the thimble andineedles toward an object to be engaged, said thimble constituting means for swinging the needles apart while entering the object engaged by the thimble.

6. In a vending machine, a thimble for movement against an article to be engaged, needles normally housed in the thimble, and means for projecting the needles beyond the end of the thimble and into the article contacted by said thimble, the said thimble constituting means for directing the needlesalong lines diverging into the article.

7. In a vending machine, article engaging means including spaced needles, means for directing the needles into an object to be conveyed, means codperating with the needles for swinging them apart while entering the engaged object, and means for automatically securing the needles against movement toward each other.

8. In a vending machine, article engaging means including needles mounted to swing toward and from each other, means for directing the needles into an article to be en- Copies of this patent may be obtainedfor means for projecting them against and into an article to be conveyed, a thimble adapted to bear against the engaged article and to spread the needles apart while entering the article, .means for holding said thimble yieldingly against the engaged article, means for locking the thimble against movement relative to the needles to hold the needles spread apart in engaging position, and means for releasing the thimble.

10. In a vending machine, separate pivotally mounted article engaging needles, means for directing the needles into engagement with an article to be conveyed, means movable against said article for swinging the needles apart while in engagement with said article, means for securing the needles in spread position, and means movable toward and from the article with the needles for holding the article against swinging movement on the needles.

11. In a vending machine, an article en gaging needle, means for shifting the same into engagement with an article, and a foot adjacent the needle for bearing against the engaged article to hold it against swinging.

LESLIE A. VANDIVER.

a Witnesses:

N. P. Bisnorr,

ROBERT CowLEs.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0. 

